Do You See What I See?

The last few months I have been screaming on a self-created roller coaster ride.  I must admit, though, that I wanted to ride the roller coaster....I just didn't see the triple-corkscrew turns on the backside!

For several months before the seat belts on the ride clamped down, I had been noticing behavioral things with our Twinkie son that concerned me.  I had mentioned them to Bernie, but he more often than not thought our son 'was just being a boy'.  I heard that a lot from various people.  However, I saw him in various situations, around many other boys, where he was definitely WAY more of a boy than the rest of the boys....and not in a good way.  Church, school, gymnastics, swimming, birthday parties, and any new situation....all would reveal moments, sometimes quite long, of  hyperactivity, distraction, inattentiveness, and random crazy behavior.  Sure, many 4 year old boys act this way, but I was seeing it with him on a regular basis.  He was getting in trouble a lot from teachers and instructors and receiving many odd looks from strangers.

One day while watching him and his Twinkie sister in gymnastics, I thought out loud:  Buddy, can you just freaking sit and listen for 30 SECONDS?!  A mom heard me and began to tell me about her daughter when she was that age.  One thing led to another, and we ended up having an incredibly enlightening dialog...one that made me see things in a way that made it easier to explain to Bernie why I thought we needed to act on what I was seeing while our son is still young and before he gets labeled as 'the troublemaker', etc.

I called his preschool teacher the next day, and she was relieved to hear my concerns, because she had been seeing what I had been seeing. Bernie and I met with her, and he began to see things even more clearly and understand how important it would be to get help for our son as early on as possible.

The next day I wrote a letter to our town to have him evaluated by special services.  It was scary and exciting all at once....getting help for our son that we were not being very successful in giving him would be wonderful, but, at the same time, it would also mean that life for our Twinkies could be much different than what they and we are used to.  But, how could we NOT try to get him help...if programs are available, it's our job as his parents to give him all we can.  A couple of weeks after sending my letter, we were contacted to schedule a meeting with the special services team.

...Please keep your arms inside your car and enjoy the ride!

Have you ever been at odds as parents about your child...maybe their behavior or difficulty in school or physical obstacles?  How have you come together for your child?